A number of consumers have recently reported instances of fraudulent purchases as a result of stolen identification. Authorities have identified that many of these purchases were made by the Felony Lane Gang, a criminal organization which operates across the country, and is now targeting the New England region. The Felony Lane Gang is a sophisticated […]
Bogus Casting Calls from Fictitious Digital Media Company
A common mode for fraudsters to gain access to people’s personal information and money is to offer work opportunities and/or send a large check for them to deposit and then wire some of the money back. Because the checks are fraudulent, the victim loses the money that they’ve wired out – and may put themselves […]
Beware of False Fundraising Campaigns
An unfortunate common approach that fraudsters use is to misrepresent that they are selling advertising for local schools, first responders, non-profits and even for-profit businesses. For instance, local businesses and consumers have reported to receiving suspicious solicitations for advertisements in false educational materials from local schools about drug and alcohol prevention. These requests were made […]
Payments May Post to Your Account Faster After September 15
An upcoming change in the way payments are processed will allow electronic ACH debits under $25,000 (excluding international transactions) to go through on the same day you pay them. This processing change, effective September 15, may reduce the time between when you make a transaction and when it clears your account. To meet the needs […]
Equifax Announces Security Breach Affecting Nearly Half of All Americans
Equifax, one of the nation’s top three credit reporting agencies, confirmed its systems were recently affected by a cyber security incident, impacting upwards of 143 million people. This incident has potentially exposed sensitive data for those affected, including names, dates of birth, addresses, credit card numbers, social security numbers, etc. The credit reporting agency has […]
Beware Phone Calls Claiming to be from Local Banks
Area consumers have reported receiving suspicious phone calls that appear to be coming from Merrimack County Savings Bank and other local financial institutions. The caller ID information displayed during these calls is “spoofed” to appear as though it originated from the bank and, if answered, the caller attempts to sell consumer protection related services, such as: travel insurance, interest rate […]
FCC Warns Consumers of ‘Can you hear me?’ Phone Scam
The Federal Communications Commission is alerting consumers to be on the lookout for scam callers seeking to get victims to say the word “yes” during a call and later using a recording of the response to authorize unwanted charges on the victim’s utility or credit card account. According to complaints the FCC has received, the […]
Fraudulent Debit Card Text Message Alerts
We have received several reports of local residents who are receiving fraudulent text messages from telephone numbers beginning with 844. The fraudulent message appears to be a “DebitCard Alert” and asks that the recipient call the 844 telephone number the text message came from. Individuals that do so are then asked to provide sensitive personal and […]
Credit Card Interest Rate Reduction Scams on the Rise
Area residents are reporting an increase in fraudulent credit card interest rate reduction phone calls. According to these reports, the calls appear to be from a local number. Upon answering, a recording is played stating that it is a “final attempt at reaching you. We have been attempting to reach you regarding lowering the interest […]
Convincing New Phishing Scam Targeting Gmail Users
Gmail users are being warned of a new and particularly convincing phishing scam. Victims of the scam receive an email claiming to be from Google asking that they click on an image attachment that is disguised as a PDF. The attachment brings the victim to a phony Google login page. When the victim enters their […]